Founded in 1920 and headquartered in Belgium, ADB is currently the leading global provider of innovative airfield technology and has been owned by PAI Partners since 2013. ADB's airfield ground lighting products are typically used for signaling, controlling and monitoring plane take-offs and landings and are installed in around 2'000 airports in 175 countries. ADB has acquired Sweden-headquartered Safegate International, the second largest company in the global airfield lighting market. The combination of these two complementary businesses will create the leading integrated airside solutions provider, offering a comprehensive range of solutions and superior service to its customers.

Robin Thywissen, Senior Vice President, Private Debt, Partners Group, comments: "ADB is ideally positioned for further growth thanks to the increase in global air traffic volume, the development of airport infrastructure in emerging markets, and the increased penetration of LED-based products. It benefits from significant recurring revenue from maintenance and refurbishment costs and from a large existing installed base. Through its acquisition of Safegate, we believe ADB will be able to leverage the technologies, brands, scale, talent and presence of both companies to become an even better business partner to airports globally."

Christopher Bone, Managing Director and Head Private Debt Europe, Partners Group, adds: "This transaction is a good example of our strategy of providing acquisition financing to market-leading mid-market companies seeking to expand their international footprint and consolidate the market. With a softening of global economic growth, these acquisitions have become increasingly important as a route to accelerate growth, and we expect to see several of our existing portfolio companies executing on similar transactions in the coming months. These present ideal investment opportunities for global financing partners like Partners Group, who are able to structure flexible and tailored financing solutions to support companies in their international buy and build strategy."